The sermon for Sunday, March 14, was preached in response to Ephesians 2.1-10 by the Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews based on the below manuscript. Fr. Joseph is the vicar of St. Hilda St. Patrick.
Disicpling,
not disciplining.
Discipling,
not disciplining.
As we move closer to Easter,
and closer to the baptismal font,
the Church couldn’t be any clearer.
Many Israelites died;
you were dead through the trespasses and sins
in which you once lived,
following the course of this world,
following the ruler
of the power of the air;
people loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds were evil.
We cannot avoid or mistake
that we’re not perfect,
no not one.
As I quoted from 1 John earlier,
“If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.”
All of our texts make this clear today,
and Paul abundantly so
writing to the church at Ephesus.
“All of us once lived among the disobedient
in the passions of our flesh,
following the desires of flesh and senses.”
Paul writes to the church
exhorting them to remember
that Jesus is their savior
and they have been called as Jesus’ disciples.
Even then, they’re being called
to discipling
not disciplining.
These texts can make us
extremely uncomfortable!
It’s not comfortable
to hear about a fallen, sinful humanity
unless we are ready to acknowledge
that it is the truth.
As we gather together,
and knowing one another’s deeds and actions
that acknowledgement can be difficult.
We do our best to work together
for the good of humanity.
Surely we are not,
as Paul says
, children of wrath.
But we don’t need to look
too far back in history
to see that humanity isn’t perfect.
While the atrocities
of the 20th century
and two world wars
are apparent,
the last year
stares us in the face.
If the rest of the country,
starting at the top of leadership,
had followed the safety guidelines
we’ve been observing,
the national COVID death count
would be almost half.
It didn’t have to be this way.
Ego,
and sinful pride
got us to where we are today.
It didn’t have to be this way.
The stories and realities of lynching
that we’ve been studying with Dr. Cone
show us our frailty
and ease with which
we turn from God.
It’s hard to acknowledge
personally and collectively
our sin,
yet that is a part of discipling.
As we move closer to Easter,
and closer to the baptismal font,
the Church couldn’t be any clearer
Will you persevere in resisting evil
and whenever you fall into sin
repent and return to the Lord?
I will with God’s help.
I will,
not of my own sheer determination and will,
but with God’s help.
That’s what the Church
makes clear to us today, too!
Writing to the church at Ephesus,
Paul doesn’t stop
at naming that we’re broken creatures.
Paul reminds them
that God sent Jesus
to be the redeemer of creation.
In all three texts today
we are remind of humanity’s sin
and encouraged with God’s unearned,
unearnable
love and grace.
“But God,
who is rich in mercy,
out of the great love
with which he loved us
even when we were dead
through our trespasses,
made us alive together with Jesus.”
Paul goes on to make it abundantly clear
just how little we do
in saving ourselves:
by grace you have been saved…
by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
The God in whose image we have been created,
knows us each intimately,
has counted the hairs on our heads
and knew us as we were knit together,
explosions of cell growth
before we could breathe.
The God in whose image we have been created
loves us so much
that They didn’t leave us to our own devices,
didn’t leave us to our sin and self destruction.
The God in whose image we have been created,
sent Jesus
not to condemn the world,
but in order that the world
might be saved through him.
As we move closer to Easter,
and closer to the baptismal font,
the Church couldn’t be any clearer:
it is by grace that we have been saved
not through anything we have done
or can do
or will do
on our own.
That kind of discipling,
not disciplining,
can be just as hard to accept
as our species’ brokenness.
As we celebrate gold medals
and live in winner-takes-all elections,
we want to earn or perform
our way out of the pit.
Whether that’s being the most righteous
or the most socially aware
we constantly look for ways
that we might try to save ourselves.
Paul writing to the Ephesians
and writing to us
couldn’t be any clearer:
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God.
It is the gift of God.
As we work through our fasts,
and move toward the Font —
preparing to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection —
remember that bloved.
We have done nothing to make God love us.
God simply does.
We have done nothing to save our selves.
God has simply given us the gift.
Amen.
Alleluia.
Thanks be to God.